Real Madrid Deny Sergio Ramos Doping Allegation

Club Issues Statement Over Ramos Drugs Test

Real Madrid have denied that Sergio Ramos broke anti-doping rules at the 2017 Champions League Final in Cardiff.

A report in the German newspaper Der Spiegel accuses the Spain international defender of being tested for a substance following Real’s 4-1 victory over Juventus at the Principality Stadium.

The report claims Ramos tested positive for the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone, which is only banned if testers are not informed of its use. Ramos allegedly informed Uefa prior to the game that he was using a different substance, betamethasone, which was a constituent part of an injection he was taking in his left knee and left shoulder.

Der Spiegel claims Real insisted at the time that it was an administrative error made by a club doctor who noted down the wrong substance. Ramos had been visited at the drug-testing station by both the King of Spain and the country’s prime minister following the ‘euphoria’ of the side’s victory. Critics will point to the closeness of the club to the Spanish establishment as a factor in Uefa accepting the club’s explanation.

“In relation to the information published by Der Spiegel referring to our captain Sergio Ramos, the club states the following:

1. Sergio Ramos has never breached the anti-doping control regulations.

2. UEFA requested timely information and closed the matter immediately, as is usual in these cases, after verification by the experts themselves of the World Anti-Doping Agency, AMA, and of UEFA itself.

3. Regarding the rest of the content of the aforementioned publication, the club does not pronounce itself before the evidence of its insubstantial nature.”

The Real captain played the full 90 minutes in the victory over Juventus.